The sporophyte is the spore-producing, diploid phase in the life cycle of a plant or alga having alternation of generations. In most plants or algae, the sporophyte gives rise to haploid (having one set of chromosomes) spores which germinate to produce a haploid generation (the gametophyte stage). The haploid generation produces the gametes. In ferns, horsetails, conifers, and flowering plants, the diploid sporophyte is the dominant phase of the life cycle, the plant body we usually see. In mosses and liverworts, the main plant body is the gametophyte.